TenneT will invest a quarter of a billion euros in the coming years to increase the capacity of the grid. At the same time, the national grid manager will start an investigation into the possibilities of creating more connection space with other solutions. This emerges from a formal notification made today to the ACM, the regulator of the energy market.
The rapid growth of wind and solar parks in Friesland together provide a large amount of sustainable energy, which is by no means all consumed in the province. Throughout the province, 1800 megawatts of sustainable generation have now been developed or are in preparation. This leads to bottlenecks on the grid in the west and south of Friesland, where approximately 1500 megawatts of renewable generation are located. TenneT will structurally resolve these bottlenecks by means of reinforcements, including the installation of additional transformers and adjustments to the regional high-voltage grid. The expected expansion will take place in phases and is expected to last between three and seven years.
Understanding the plans as early as possible
Robert Kuik, TenneT Manager of Grid Planning: "In Friesland there are plenty of plans for sustainable energy production, which continue to develop at a rapid pace. All these developments require adjustments to the high-voltage grid. For TenneT it is crucial to know when and where the plans will come as specifically and as early as possible, because expansion of the high-voltage infrastructure takes a lot of time. At the same time we are also looking at other solutions to realise more connection space in the shorter term in order to facilitate the Frisian ambitions from the Climate Agreement in a timely manner."
TenneT invests 250 million euros in grid reinforcement in Friesland
TenneT will continue to invest in Friesland over the next few years. In addition to installing additional transformers at the connection stations with the national electricity highway, various grid upgrades will also be carried out. For example, TenneT intends to modify the existing connection between Oosterwolde and Oudehaske so that more electricity can be transported. Windpark Fryslan was already connected this spring, now with a direct cable connection to Oudehaske, and later via a new high-voltage substation to be built near Bolsward. TenneT is also working on initial expansions of the Louwsmeer high-voltage substation and installing additional capacity at the Oudehaske substation. Total investments amount to a quarter of a billion euros.
Research into congestion management
If structural bottlenecks occur in the electricity network, the grid manager will also start a formal investigation, based on laws and regulations, into the possibilities of applying congestion management. This is a method based on the electricity market to create more connection space and at the same time prevent overloading of the electricity network. The results of this study are expected in the second half of 2021.
